New clues from 911 call emerge in case of missing Wisconsin girl

Share this:

MADISON, Wis. – A sheriff’s department dispatch log reveals new information about the night that missing Wisconsin teenager Jayme Closs’ parents were found dead — including that a 911 call appeared to have come from her mother’s cell phone, and that the door to the family’s home had been kicked in.

Authorities have been searching for Jayme Closs, 13, since early Monday, when a mysterious 911 call led deputies to discover that her parents had been shot dead at the family’s home in northwestern Wisconsin’s Barron County.

“We believe Jayme was in the home at the time of the homicides and we believe she’s still in danger,” Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said this week.

The investigation began when someone called 911 shortly before 1 a.m. Monday. No one on the line talked to the dispatcher, but the dispatcher could hear a disturbance, authorities said.

Please click on the following Facebook link https://t.co/Xhk6WGo3mj for the latest PRESS RELEASE for Oct. 19, 2018 from Barron County Sheriff's Office regarding the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of 13 yr old Jayme Closs. Call 1-855-744-3879 with tips. #FindJaymepic.twitter.com/ogpXGImuIu

Deputies responded about four minutes later and found Jayme’s parents, James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46, shot dead in their home outside the small city of Barron — and Jayme was nowhere to be found, authorities said.

A city of 3,400, Barron is about 75 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

A dispatch log that the Barron County Sheriff’s Department released Friday offers a few new details from that night:

• The dispatcher “could hear a lot of yelling” during the 911 call.

• The call was “pinged” to the Closs’ home. When the dispatcher called the number back, a voicemail greeting indicated that the phone belonged to Denise Closs.

• A responding officer found “the door has been kicked in.”

• The family dog was there when deputies arrived, and was eventually taken to a relative’s home.

The log does not indicate who made the 911 call, who was yelling or what was being yelled.

Closs’ parents were shot and their deaths have been ruled homicides, Fitzgerald said Wednesday. No gun was found at the scene, he said.

Investigators believe Jayme was at home during the shooting based on details from the 911 call and evidence from the home, Fitzgerald said.

“Is it a random attack or a targeted attack? I don’t know that answer,” Fitzgerald told reporters. “That’s why those leads are so important.”

Volunteers scour the area

Volunteers and law enforcement combed the sides of US 8 — the road where the Closs’ home is located — on Thursday, looking for evidence. But they didn’t turn up anything of value, Fitzgerald said.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Hours earlier, Fitzgerald asked for 100 volunteers to participate in Thursday's search, which took place about 3 miles from the family's home, according to CNN affiliate WCCO.

The Barron County Sherriff's Department has received more than 1,000 tips for missing teenager Jayme Closs, according to a news release on the department's Facebook page. Officials are asking the public to come forward with any information they may have about the Closs family and to remain vigilant in watching the behavior of others, as a change in normal behavior could lead police to additional tips, according to the release.

The sheriff said Thursday he has a "100% expectation that she's alive." He could not be reached for comment Friday.

Motive in parents' death is unclear

Deputies are also trying to determine who killed Jayme's parents, and why.